Prescription Drug News and Research

RSS

Report: Seniors still struggle with drug costs

Five years after the launch of Medicare prescription drug coverage, many beneficiaries are still struggling to sign up, according to a new report from the Medicare Rights Center.

27 Jul 2011

Study explores factors for misuse of prescription opioid in young injection drug users

A new study by researchers at Drexel University's School of Public Health suggests that abuse of prescription painkillers may be an important gateway to the use of injected drugs such as heroin, among people with a history of using both types of drugs.

25 Jul 2011

Medicare Part D prescription drug rebates would increase monthly premiums for seniors

Including Medicare Part D prescription drug rebates in the final debt ceiling package would increase monthly premiums by up to about 40 percent for more than 17 million seniors, according to a new analysis of government data.

22 Jul 2011

Purdue Pharma develops new online resource for combating prescription drug abuse

A new online resource, RxSafetyMatters.org, is now available to help healthcare professionals, law enforcement, and community organizations combat the illegal diversion and abuse of prescription medications.

20 Jul 2011

Investigational compound dapagliflozin receives negative recommendation from FDA Advisory Committee

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and AstraZeneca today reported the outcome of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee meeting on the New Drug Application for the investigational compound dapagliflozin.

20 Jul 2011

FDA ODAC recommends approval of Seattle Genetics' ADCETRIS for Hodgkin lymphoma after ASCT

Seattle Genetics, Inc. today announced that the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted 10-0 to recommend that the FDA grant accelerated approval of ADCETRIS™ (brentuximab vedotin) for the treatment of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma who relapse after autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT).

15 Jul 2011

Viewpoints: Prominent Republicans against IPAB; docs defend health law; medical marijuana research

The IPAB has created "immediate uncertainty at hand," says Scott & White Healthcare in central Texas, for their 12 hospitals and more than 800 physicians. Many more organizations and associations have expressed similar concerns and urged me to do what I can to repeal this ill-conceived bureaucratic board. That's why I have introduced the Health Care Bureaucrats Elimination Act, and why I'm testifying Wednesday on the other side of the Capitol to build support in the House.

14 Jul 2011

$More patients tested, treated when fracture clinics have someone dedicated to screening$

More patients tested, treated when fracture clinics have someone dedicated to screening

More patients are tested and treated for osteoporosis when fracture clinics have someone dedicated to screening for the bone disease, a new study has found.

12 Jul 2011

Antares, Watson enter license deal to commercialize Anturol in the U.S. and Canada

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Antares Pharma, Inc. today announced an exclusive licensing agreement for Watson to commercialize Antares' topical oxybutynin gel product in the U.S. and Canada.

11 Jul 2011

Generics as a way to lower health care costs

As the nation seeks to expand health care coverage to more citizens without adding burdensome costs, researchers from Harvard University, Brigham and Women's Hospital and CVS Caremark reported that preventative health care may be significantly less costly than previously thought, due to expanded use of cost-effective generic medications for the treatment and prevention of chronic disease.

8 Jul 2011

Viewpoints: Debt ceiling & entitlements; Pharmaceutical dilemmas; Bishops 'misunderstand' death with dignity

Democrats have already proposed a 3-1 formula that would allow for $3 in spending cuts for every $1 in new revenue. So we have met our Republican colleagues more than half-way in this painful process. We are even willing to discuss significant savings in Medicare and Medicaid — as long as essential benefits for seniors and the most vulnerable are preserved (Rep. William Lacy Clay, 7/7).

8 Jul 2011

State roundup: Health officials in Calif. draw high pay

Abortion-rights supporters worried Tuesday that regulations Kansas is trying to enact would give the state health department unfettered access to patient medical records and suggested it could endanger the privacy of women who have terminated pregnancies.

7 Jul 2011

Treating migraines with behavioral approaches can make financial sense

Treating chronic migraines with behavioral approaches - such as relaxation training, hypnosis and biofeedback - can make financial sense compared to prescription-drug treatment, especially after a year or more, a new study found.

6 Jul 2011

Viewpoints: 'Imaginary' mandates, premium hikes, Medicare leadership

Liberals are taking a victory lap since a federal appeals court upheld President Obama's health care plan last week, but not so fast. This is an idiosyncratic and flawed opinion, and we trust the Supreme Court, however it rules, will hold itself to a higher standard of jurisprudential reasoning.

6 Jul 2011

Obama administration turns bright spotlight on prescription painkiller abuse

The Obama administration turned a bright spotlight on prescription painkiller abuse in April when the Office of National Drug Control Policy released a national action plan and a statement from Vice President Joe Biden.

2 Jul 2011

Multinational drug companies' scam

In an Al Jazeera opinion piece, the first in a two-part series, Khadija Sharife, a journalist and visiting scholar at the Center for Civil Society, examines how multinational drug companies control markets.

1 Jul 2011

HHS: Half million seniors experiencing lower drug costs

As a result of health law changes to provide seniors with "doughnut hole" relief, Medicare recipients saved a combined $260 million on medicines as of the end of last month.

30 Jun 2011

Cipher grants Vertical exclusive U.S. distribution rights to CIP-TRAMADOL ER

Cipher Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced that it has entered into a definitive distribution and supply agreement with Vertical Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a U.S.-based specialty pharmaceutical company, under which Cipher has granted Vertical the exclusive right to market, sell and distribute CIP-TRAMADOL ER in the United States.

29 Jun 2011

Drug labels sometimes lack key safety warnings: Consumer Reports Health

It's comparable to driving a car without a seatbelt—a new investigation from Consumer Reports Health finds that drug labels sometimes lack key safety warnings and some pharmacies fail to include the medication guides required by the federal government.

28 Jun 2011

Cardium to purchase Transdel's business assets

Cardium Therapeutics today announced that it had entered into an agreement with Transdel Pharmaceuticals to acquire substantially all of Transdel's business assets including a Phase 3 product candidate Ketotransdel (TDLP-110), which is a topically-administered analgesic for the treatment of musculoskeletal pain.

27 Jun 2011